DTD and BF - how long am I "safe"?

[paradise lost]

Mayaness i will back you up if everyone in the world agrees to stop saying "scotch" in reference to whiskey and the Scottish peoples and only use it when talking about sticky tape.

Rory i'd probably err on the side of caution if i were you. Babies are quite good at preventing early siblings but that does need to mean mummy = dummy. You can always relax again once you've passed the 9 or so month mark...?

Bx

[Smoke Jaguar]

Oooh, yes Bec! I'm with you on that one, too!

[Artechim]

My DH grandmother had 7 babies in 7 years. Her advice to me was "don't let anyone tell you that breastfeeding is a good contraceptive".

[Rouge]

Its actually not a slur I am first generation Australian (from irish decent) and I've had that term used around me by many including irish people. It generally means because many irish families are large (my grandfather was one of 15, my granny one of 11) and to be large they often pop one out and have another shortly after So the name came about. One thing the irish are good at is laughing at themselves, maybe we all need to take a leaf out of that book

[Phteven]

Mayaness i will back you up if everyone in the world agrees to stop saying "scotch" in reference to whiskey and the Scottish peoples and only use it when talking about sticky tape.

Bx

I hope no-one here says Scotch in reference to whiskey because I was under the impression that the Irish and Americans make whiskey whilst the Canadians and Scots make whisky Although I could be confused - I often am lol.

[Matryoshka]

I'm still questioning the origins of that term!
Anyway, back to the topic - the ABA literature says that with no dummy use, BFing on demand and through the night should keep ovulation at bay. Also, co-sleeping mama's have longer ovulation-free periods - must keep the maternal hormones in higher concentrations to be skin to skin. All co-sleeping mummies I know have not ovulated for at least 3 years, so them's fair apples!
We still co-sleep, BF on demand and through the night (but we DO use a dummy, only to keep him asleep after he has fed to sleep), and it's been well over two years since ovulation - I am on the mini-pill and often miss days, let alone the three hour grace period...and no pg thus far! Not to say it's foolproof, just that it's worked thus far for us and if we fall pg tomorrow, no big deal, DS will be the minimum ideal age in time for next baby

We co-slept/sleep and i got AF at 3 months post birth and we were BF HOURLY.

I would NEVER rely on BF unless you don't mind another baby soon because i don't believe its a guarantee at all

[paradise lost]

Actually everyone is making uisge beatha and spelling it wrong. It's gaelic for Water of Life - whiskey. Uisge means water and it's pronounced ish-ge which is where whiskey comes from, a mis-prononciation by the english. The Americans make bourbon, or they make whiskey and call it scotch.

I'm english actually, so why do i care? :P

Sorry Rory, i hope this racism vs harmless colloquialism chat is making you laugh rather than annoying you!

Bx

[PinkPalace]

it is such a hard one and i guess what the girls have said is right, breastfeeding cannont be used as a fullproof contraceptive.

i have only been BF-ing 4 - 5times times a day with 12 hour gaps of no BF overnight and dd uses a dummy and i still havent gotten af! so go figure i am waiting for mine to come back and it hasnt and others feed 2 hourly / 24 hrs a day and get it back within 6 weeks

[Olive]

i didnt feed overnight from about 12 weeks, i didnt get AF until 9 months!! everyone is SOOOO different

[Roryrory]

i hope this racism vs harmless colloquialism chat is making you laugh rather than annoying you!

Not at all - I am pi$$ing myself actually

Last time AF returned at 7 months and I conceived Ollie the first time we tried when Flynn was 9 months - so our relatively high fertility makes me even more tetchy!!

[Jesswith6]

Honestly Rory,. if you were considering DTD I wouldn't rely on BF as a honest contraception. As everyone has pointed out, there are good points and there are bad points. If are considering TTC#3 in 9 months time, I would advise(if I was medically inclined) to use condoms. I was reading an article and this woman is bf her 14week old and she is currently pg again. HTH

[Phteven]

lol Bx, I was just commenting on what they write on the label and you dazzled me with Gaelic.

[Smoke Jaguar]

Cai - Yes, the Irish are very good at laughing at themselves, like many people are (regardless of extraction), so are Jewish people from those that I know. Trust me, in Ireland, a lot of the terms we take for granted (including calling something 'Irish' when it is illogical) are not heard of and those who have heard the terms take great offence. The ones who don't are younger and haven't thought about where the 'jokes' originate. Being laughed at (for reasons of racist origins borne of subjugation) is very different from laughing at oneself and accepting jokes made about you that are a bit rude and very unfounded. I'm first gen, too, with all my relations living in Ireland (and have lived there for a spell), so that's my reality, can't vouch for yours
Take home message is that relying on BF for contraception could end in a dilemma! Another story - a friend of mine has 3 children, one a couple of days older than my DS. First of all she was told she'd never conceive (let alone give birth, but that's another story!), yet she did, nearly 5 years ago. She has actually never had a period since then and managed to conceive two more children (all planned and spaced about 2 years apart) whilst term BFing and co-sleeping. So, she's ovulated and caught it on time - I love her story!